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BENJAMIN BOOKER
jbhifi.com.au08
JUNE
2017
visit
stack.net.auMUSIC
NEWS
continued
You’ve said you recently decided
not to veil your ideas or feelings
in metaphor any longer. I think
we often use devices (metaphor,
emojis, so on) to sort of soften
our communication.What was
the catalyst for your decision?
I think it was just a confidence
thing. I’ve been in the industry
for a while now and I feel like I
have now learnt how to separate
'Marika Hackman' the artist, and
the person. I think understanding
the difference between the two
made it easier to be more direct
with my lyrics, as I could attach
them to my desired artistic
persona rather than having them
just linked back to me. The lyrics
are still coming from a very
personal place of course, and
always have one foot in my own
experiences, but I think this shift
allowed me to let stuff flow out
and not feel the need to shroud it
in mystery as a protection device.
On
Good Intentions AKA
Fountain Head,
the switch into
that double time, syncopated
beat in the chorus is so
unexpected (and cool!). Did
you muck around a lot with the
verse/chorus feel of this track
before this specific idea struck
you?
I actually had the opening riff
for a really long time and had
written another song around it
which wasn’t good enough...
and then I remember, I was just
sitting on my bed noodling around,
and the chorus just came out
of nowhere. I added it into the
demo and then went and played
it to my housemate and that was
that. I think it all happened pretty
naturally; I don’t tend to have
specific ideas before going into
writing.
The strings on
RoundWe Go
are
super lovely.Where does that
cello come from?
I’ve been working with Kirsty,
who plays violin and viola, and
Rachael who plays cello for a few
years now. They’re both amazing
musicians. I wanted to have a
cello part in this one to emphasise
[a] stripped-back feel... inspired
of course by Nirvana’s MTV
Unplugged set. It’s a pretty simple
part but it adds a lot of warmth;
I’ve always really loved the sound
of a lone cello.
On
Cigarette
there are tiny
haunting whining sounds
(violin and your voice?) in the
background of the last section
of this song.Why are these
miniscule atmospheric details
important to you?
I think that they have to be
important to anyone making any
kind of art. You can write a good
song, but how you treat it in the
studio can either take it up a level
or just leave it where it was. If
you’re trying to create any sort of
atmosphere, especially on a song
as intimate as
Boyfriend
, then it’s
going to be those subtle details
that do it. In my mind,
Cigarette
is almost like an interlude on this
record; I feel like that moment
in the song is there to give the
listener some space to breathe
in the middle before it all comes
back in.
AppleTree
has a very
Kill Bill
kind of opening, with that
whistle. Are you considered an
accomplished whistler?
It’s funny that you say that,
because I actually went into that
song wanting it to sound like
it could’ve been lifted from a
Tarantino soundtrack – looks like
my plan worked. I wouldn’t say
that I’m an accomplished whistler;
I can carry a tune but nothing
fancy. I’ve always been really
jealous of people who can do that
really loud whistle where you put
two fingers in your mouth.
How about the other effects on
this one: there are whip-cracks
and something that sounds like
metallic castanets?
I wanted some whip-cracks
to really bring home that sort of
western feel, so I found some
clips of people cracking whips
online and sampled the best
ones. It actually took a really long
time to find those proper, almost
cartoonish whip-crack sounds, I
think I went through about 60…
I think the metallic castanets
you’re talking about are actually
wooden frogs. They’ve got these
ridged backs which you run a
little wooden stick down and they
make a very satisfying noise.
Charlie invested in a whole set of
different-sized frogs so we could
get the right tone, and then we
each picked one and recorded it
together in the live room.
I heard many references to
mouths in these lyrics, all the
way across the album. Do you
have an oral fixation, or do I?
I think I do have an oral fixation
– I used to suck my thumb a lot,
and long enough that it got to the
point where I was definitely too
old. I also remember, when I was
a kid, holding food against my
mouth before I would eat it, which
is pretty weird – I hope there aren’t
any psychologists reading this. I
guess the main song focusing on
mouths is
Violet
, seeing as it says
‘I love your mouth’ about 50 times,
but that’s actually just because my
girlfriend has a great mouth.
ZKR
I'm Not
Your Man
by Marika
Hackman is
out June 2 via
Caroline.
MARIKA
HACKMAN
This month British singer-songwriter Marika Hackman
releases her incisive, quick-witted, engrossing and super fun
debut
I'm NotYour Man
–
we asked her some questions.
Words
Tim Lambert
D
octors recommend fruit, veg and exercise, but I advise you add a good dose of New Orleans crooner Benjamin
Booker's new album
Witness
to your diet to keep your
soul
healthy. From the opening bars of
Right On You
it’s
clear this record was made to make you happy; once Booker’s coarse and beautifully cracked voice hits your ears
you’re sucked right into his world.
Motivation
encourages a fresh outlook, and you’ll need your dancing shoes on by
the time you get to upbeat, hip-swinging
Off The Ground
. Brightness emanates from the title track, from its slinky
guitars to the endearingly guileless piano, and the gospel choir which cuddles Mavis Staples’ gorgeous feature vocal.
Forget Bourbon Street and its beads; this is soul food, teaching you how to live right – one song at a time.
Witness
by
Benjamin Booker
is out June 2 via
Remote Control.